Get Ready, Get Set for the Power BI Demo Contest!

Everybody knows how powerful data is, but with the right tools you can take your insights to the next level. Data is all around us: social media, entertainment, sports, politics and economics. The stories hiding behind Big Data are waiting to be found and brought to light.

With the Power BI for Office 365 available for public preview, Microsoft is running a demo contest between November 6th, 2013 and January 15th 2014 to enable data enthusiasts to build their models with Power BI, tell their stories, inspire others and get rewarded.

Get your hands on some public data with Power Query, start unlocking insights with beautiful and interactive visualizations using Power View and Power Map right within Excel, and ask questions and get answers in real time with the Q&A feature. Take your analysis on the go with the Mobile App, and collaborate using Power BI sites.

Show your skills and the features and functionalities of Power BI in a video for a chance to win! With four rounds of prizes, you could win an Xbox One console, a Surface Pro 2 tablets, and a registration for the PASS Business Analytics Conference (PASS BAC) 2014! The Grand Prize winner will receive a trip to San Jose, California for the PASS Business Analytics Conference, featuring a VIP experience. His or her video will also be showcased by Microsoft at the conference!

Power BI for Office 365 is a complete self-service BI solution delivered through Excel and Office 365 that provides data discovery, analysis, and visualization capabilities to identify deeper insights from data. The Power BI for Office 365 service is a cloud-based solution that reduces the barriers to deploying a BI environment for sharing reports and accessing information.

At www.powerbicontest.com you can find resources to walk you through the sign up process for the public preview, information on how to get started with Power BI, and tips on where to get your hands on public data sources and guidelines/tools for building your demo video.

If you want to get a head start, please visit www.powerbi.com and find out more about Power BI for Office 365. To get you inspired, we leave you with Amir Netz’ demo at WPC 2013 and his view on the recent history of music and Marc Reguera’s take on the World Bank data presentation of Hans Rosling follows.

Good luck and we look forward to your demos! The complete contest rules are included below.

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MICROSOFT POWER BI DEMO CONTEST

OFFICIAL RULES

PLEASE NOTE: It is your sole responsibility to review and understand your employer’s policies regarding your eligibility to participate in trade promotions. If you are participating in violation of your employer’s policies, you may be disqualified from entering or receiving prizes. Microsoft disclaims any and all liability or responsibility for disputes arising between an employee and their employer related to this matter, and prizes will only be awarded in compliance with the employer’s policies.

GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES: Microsoft is committed to complying with government gift and ethics rules and therefore government employees are not eligible.

This Contest is hosted in the United States, and entry information is collected on computers in the United States. This Contest will be governed by the laws of the State of Washington, and you consent to the exclusive jurisdiction and venue of the courts of the State of Washington for any disputes arising out of this Contest. If you do not agree with this provision and these Official Rules, please do not enter this Contest.

COMMON TERMS USED IN THESE RULES:

These are the official rules that govern how the Microsoft Power BI Demo Contest promotion will operate (“Contest”).

In these rules, “we,” “our,” and “us” refer to Microsoft Corporation, the sponsor of this Contest. “You” refers to an eligible Contest entrant.

CONTEST DESCRIPTION:

This is a skill-based Contest. The object of this Contest is to create the best (as determined by Microsoft judges) video of yourself demonstrating the key features of the Microsoft product, Power BI, using the free product trial. Key features include Power Map, Power View, Q&A, and/or Mobile B, but entries may demonstrate any available Power BI product features. All videos will be judged using the criteria described below to determine winners as describe more fully below.

WHAT ARE THE START AND END DATES?

This Contest starts at 9 a.m. Pacific Time (PT) on November 6, 2013, and ends at 5 p.m. PT on January 15, 2014 (“Entry Period”) and will consist of multiple phases as follows:

Phase

Start Date (all times 9:01 AM PT)

End Date (all times 4:59 p.m. PT)

1 - Entry

November 6, 2013

January 15, 2014

2 - Public Voting determines 10 Semi- Finalists

January 20, 2014

January 30, 2014

3 - PASS & Microsoft panel determine 5 Finalists

Feb. 1

Feb. 15

Grand Prize Winner will be announced

no later than April 30, 2014

CAN I ENTER?

You are eligible to enter this Contest if you meet the following requirements at time entry:

You are a professional or enthusiast in the field of IT Development including IT Pro's, Developers, Business Intelligence Professionals, Database Administrators, and Business Students who have an interest in data analytics 18 years of age or older; and

If you are 18 of age or older, but are considered a minor in your place of residence, you should ask your parent’s or legal guardian’s permission prior to submitting an entry into this Contest; and

You are a legal resident of a Country/Region where Power BI Preview is available - see www.powerbi.com for a list of eligible Countries/Regions; and

You are NOT an employee of Microsoft Corporation or an employee of a Microsoft subsidiary; and

You areNOT involved in any part of the administration and execution of this Contest; and

You are NOT an immediate family (parent, sibling, spouse, child) or household member of a Microsoft employee, an employee of a Microsoft subsidiary, or a person involved in any part of the administration and execution of this Contest.

This Contest is void outside the geographic area described above and wherever else prohibited by law.

WHAT CONSTITUTES AN ELIGIBLE ENTRY?

For purposes of this Contest, each video you create of yourself demonstrating theMicrosoft product, Power BI, will be called an “Entry.”

To be eligible for judging an entry must meet the following content / technical requirements:

The video be at least 3 and no more than 10 minutes in length and

the video must be your own original work; and

The video must be submitted in one of the following formats: MOV, MPEG, MPG, MP4, M4V, VOB, FLV, AVI, ASF, DIVX, or WMV (For best results, 16 x 9 aspect ratio at 720p); and

The video cannot exceed 500 MB file size; and

The video must be in English or be accompanied by English subtitles; and

You must have obtained any and all consents, approvals or licenses required (including any personality or publicity rights of any recognizable person) for you to submit your Entry; and

Your Entry may not include any third party trademarks (logos, names) or copyrighted materials (music, images, video, recognizable people) unless you have obtained permission to use the materials.You may include Microsoft trademarks, logos, and designs, for which Microsoft grants you a limited license to use for the sole purposes of submitting an Entry into this Contest.

We are not responsible for Entries that we do not receive for any reason, or for Entries that we receive but are not decipherable for any reason.

We will automatically disqualify:

Any incomplete or illegible Entry; and

Any Entry that contains Inappropriate content (sexual, violent, derogatory, offensive, disparaging, or otherwise presents Microsoft in a poor light); and

Any Entries that we receive from you that are in excess of the Entry limit described above.

We reserve the right to reject any Entry, in our sole and absolute discretion, that we determine does not meet the above criteria.

HOW WILL MY ENTRY BE POTENTIALLY USED?

Other than what is set forth below, we are not claiming any ownership rights to your Entry. However, by submitting your Entry, you:

are granting us and necessary sublicensees an irrevocable, royalty-free, worldwide right and license to: (i) Use, review, assess, test and otherwise analyze your Entry and all its content in connection with this Contest; and (ii) feature your Entry and all content in connection with the marketing, sale, or promotion of this Contest (including but not limited to internal and external sales meetings, conference presentations, tradeshows, and screen shots of the Contest Entry in press releases) in all media (now known or later developed). “Use” means, without limitation, the right to: copy, distribute, transmit, publicly display, publicly perform, reproduce, edit, translate and reformat your Submission; to publish your name in connection with your Submission; and to sublicense such rights to any supplier of the Services. You also expressly waive any and all rights of privacy and publicity with respect to the image.

agree to sign any necessary documentation that may be required for us and our designees to make use of the rights you granted above;

understand and acknowledge that the Sponsor(s) may have developed or commissioned materials similar or identical to your submission and you waive any claims you may have resulting from any similarities to your entry;

understand that we cannot control the incoming information you will disclose to our representatives in the course of entering, or what our representatives will remember about your Entry. You also understand that we will not restrict work assignments of representatives who have had access to your Entry. By entering this Contest, you agree that use of information in our representatives’ unaided memories in the development or deployment of our products or services does not create liability for us under this agreement or copyright or trade secret law;

understand that you will not receive any compensation or credit for use of your Entry, other than what is described in these Official Rules

Please note that during and after this Contest your Entry may be posted on a publically accessible website. We are not responsible for any unauthorized use of your Entry by visitors to this website. While we reserve these rights, we are not obligated to use your Entry for any purpose, even if it has been selected as a winning Entry.

If you do not want to grant us these rights to your Entry, please do not enter this Contest.

HOW DO I ENTER?

To enter visit www.powerbicontest.com and complete and submit the online form, including submission of your Entry, as instructed.

This Contest is in no way sponsored, endorsed, or administered by, or associated with, Facebook. You understand that you are providing your information to the Sponsor and not to Facebook. The information you provide will only be used for administering the Contest and to contact you if you are a winner.

Limit three unique Entries per person and Facebook account.

We are not responsible for entries that we do not receive for any reason, or for entries that we receive but are not decipherable for any reason.

We will automatically disqualify:

Any incomplete or illegible Entry; and

Any entries that we receive from you that are in excess of the Entry limit described above.

WINNER DETERMINATION

Winners will be determined in multiple phases as follows. During all Phases, website voters and judges will apply the following judging criteria when selecting winners:

40.00% - Effectiveness of demo in demonstrating usage of key features of Power BI

20.00% - Overall structure and flow of demonstration

20.00% - Overall experience

20.00% - Innovativeness and creativity of demo

Phase 1: Public Vote Entries will be posted in an online gallery on the application webpage for public viewing. During Phase 1 website visitors will be invited to vote for their favorite Entry based on the judging criteria listed above. At the close of the Phase 1, up to ten (10) Entries with the most votes will be considered potential Semi-Finalists. We reserve the right to select additional Semi-Finalists at our sole discretion and the right to select an alternate winner should the voting appear to have been tampered with or manipulated in any way. Limit: Each website visitor may vote one (1) time per person per day throughout Phase 1. Multiple voters are not permitted to share the same email address. Any attempt by any voter to obtain more than the stated number of votes by using multiple/different email addresses, identities, registrations and logins, or any other methods will void that voter's votes and that voter may be disqualified. Use of any automated program to vote will void all votes.

Phase 2: Panel Judging: A panel of Microsoft and PASS Board member judges will review all Semi-Finalist entries and determine up to five Finalists based on the judging criteria listed above.

Grand Prize Judging: A panel of Microsoft Executive judges will review Finalist entries and will select one Grand Prize winners of the contest prizes below based on the judging criteria listed above.

In the event of a tie between any eligible entries, an additional judge will break the tie based on the judging criteria described above. The decisions of the judges are final and binding. If we do not receive a sufficient number of entries meeting the entry requirements, we may, at our discretion, select fewer winners than the number of Contest Prizes described below. If we do not receive a sufficient number of Entries meeting the Entry requirements, we may, at our discretion, select fewer winners than described above during any Phase.

PRIZES

(1) Grand Prize: A PASS BAC Prize package including:

A trip for one person to attend the PASS Business Analytics Conference 2014 in May 7 – 9, 2014 in San Jose, CA. Approximate Retail Value, ARV, US$3,500. Trip includes:

Round trip coach airfare from major airport closest to winner's home to San Jose, CA

4 nights standard hotel accommodations

Transfers to/from Airport/Hotel in San Jose, CA only

VIP experience at the PASS BAC

Winners demo will be showcased by Microsoft at PASS BAC

If the event is cancelled for any reason, Sponsor shall have no further obligation to the winner other than to provide the travel portion of the prize minus the opportunity to attend event.

Actual value depends on date/time/destination, and difference between actual value and stated value will not be awarded. Any and all expenses not describe herein, including but not limited to food, transportation, gratuities, room service charges, etc. are the sole responsibility of the winner.

Travel subject to availability and must be completed on dates specified by the Sponsor or prize will be forfeited and awarded to an alternate winner. Some restrictions may apply. No cancellation of reservation or transfer of reservation to another date after reservation has been made. Winner is responsible for providing all required travel documents, including, but not limited to required Visa, passport etc.

(5) Finalist Prize: A Prize package including:

1 ticket to attend the PASS Business Analytics Conference 2014 (http://www.sqlpass.org/bac/2014/Home.aspx) May 7 – 9, 2014 in San Jose, CA. ARV each US$1,895.00. Prize consists of event ticket only for 1 person only. Unless you are the Grand Prize Winner, you are solely responsible for any other travel or related expense to attend PASS.

A Surface Pro 2 tablet ARV, $899

Your demos will be posted on MSCloudOS YouTube Channel

(10) Semi-Finalist Prize: An Xbox One console. ARV each US$499.99

(25) First Entry received Prize: The first twenty five eligible entrants will receive a Microsoft branded T-shirt. ARV each US$15

The ARV of electronic prizes is subject to price fluctuations in the consumer marketplace based on, among other things, any gap in time between the date the ARV is estimated for purposes of these Official Rules and the date the prize is awarded or redeemed. We will determine the value of the prize to be the fair market value at the time of prize award. Winner may receive an alternate prize if the Xbox One console is not available in their market. The total ARV of all prizes: US $22,844.90

Limit four prizes per person.

If you are a potential winner, we will notify you by sending a message to the e-mail address, the phone number, or mailing address (if any) provided at time of entry within seven (7) days following completion of judging. If the notification that we send is returned as undeliverable, or you are otherwise unreachable for any reason, we may award to a runner-up.

If there is a dispute as to who is the potential winner, we will consider the potential winner to be the authorized account holder of the e-mail address used to enter the Contest. If you are a potential winner, we may require you to sign an Affidavit of Eligibility, Liability/Publicity Release and a W-9 tax form or W-8 BEN tax form within 10 days of notification. If you are a potential winner and you are 18 or older, but are considered a minor in your place of legal residence, we may require your parent or legal guardian to sign all required forms on your behalf. If you do not complete the required forms as instructed and/or return the required forms within the time period listed on the winner notification message, we may disqualify you and select a runner-up.

If you are confirmed as a winner of this Contest:

You may not exchange your prize for cash or any other merchandise or services. However, if for any reason an advertised prize is unavailable, we reserve the right to substitute a prize of equal or greater value; and

You may not designate someone else as the winner. If you are unable or unwilling to accept your prize, we may award it to a runner up; and

If you accept a prize, you will be solely responsible for all applicable taxes related to accepting the prize; and

If you are otherwise eligible for this Contest, but are considered a minor in your place of residence, we may award the prize to your parent/legal guardian on your behalf; and

Unless otherwise noted, all prizes are subject to their manufacturer’s warranty and / or terms and conditions.

WHAT OTHER CONDITIONS AM I AGREEING TO BY ENTERING?

By entering this Contest you agree:

To abide by these Official Rules; and

To release and hold harmless Microsoft and its respective parents, subsidiaries, affiliates, employees and agents from any and all liability or any injury, loss or damage of any kind arising from or in connection with this Contest, or any prize won; and

That Microsoft’s decisions will be final and binding on all matters related to this Contest; and

That, by accepting a prize, Microsoft may use of your proper name and state of residence online and in print, or in any other media, in connection with this Contest, without payment or compensation to you, except where prohibited by law.

WHAT LAWS GOVERN THE WAY THIS CONTEST IS EXECUTED AND ADMINISTRATED?

This Contest will be governed by the laws of the State of Washington, and you consent to the exclusive jurisdiction and venue of the courts of the State of Washington for any disputes arising out of this Contest.

WHAT IF SOMETHING UNEXPECTED HAPPENS AND THE CONTEST CAN’T RUN AS PLANNED?

If someone cheats, or a virus, bug, catastrophic event, or any other unforeseen or unexpected event that cannot be reasonably anticipated or controlled, (also referred to as force majeure)affects the fairness and / or integrity of this Contest, we reserve the right to cancel, change or suspend this Contest. This right is reserved whether the event is due to human or technical error. If a solution cannot be found to restore the integrity of the Contest, we reserve the right to select winners from among all eligible entries received before we had to cancel, change or suspend the Contest.

If you attempt to compromise the integrity or the legitimate operation of this Contest by hacking or by cheating or committing fraud in ANY way, we may seek damages from you to the fullest extent permitted by law. Further, we may ban you from participating in any of our future Contest, so please play fairly.

HOW CAN I FIND OUT WHO WON?

We will post the names of winners who received a prize worth $25.00 or more online at http://blogs.technet.com/b/powerbi/. This list will remain posted one month after April 30, 2014.